Monthly activity in Sydney’s property market reflected both the challenges and the opportunities at play for current buyers and sellers. A nuanced set of data from property group BresicWhitney reveals it was another strong month for total sales for the leading Sydney agency, totalling 127. A figure that marked a new transactional record for BresicWhitney in its two decades of operations.

Total sales grew by 10.4% month-on-month and by 29.5% against the same period last year. Properties that contributed to total volume comprised high-end waterfront homes, quintessential family homes, warehouse conversions, architectural reinventions, apartments and more. A multi-level trophy home in Seaforth sold at auction for $15,700,000 in front of a crowd of over 100 people. The BresicWhitney campaign piqued interest from potential buyers from across Sydney.

A classic family home with a modern renovation at 44 Woolwich Road Hunters Hill sold at auction for $8,660,000 with five bidders, as did family friendly homes at 20 Carrington Avenue Mosman for $5,800,000 and 17 Tranmere Street Drummoyne for a price in the early $4,000,000 range.

There was strong sales activity across the Inner West and East in the month too, with results in Balmain, Forest Lodge, Erskineville, St Peters, Alexandria and more. Unique properties continued to attract attention, including a former soap factory-turned-home at 136a Shepherd Street Darlington, that sold for $4,070,000 at auction after competitive bidding. A double-fronted 1880s cottage in Surry Hills sold for $1,900,000, while a newly built, architect-designed residence in Beaconsfield sold for $2,325,000. Each sale contributing to the more than $2 billion of Sydney property sold by BresicWhitney for January – October 2024.

Auction action.
The group’s auction clearance rate for October was 85.8%, above the prior quarter’s average of 75% and the 83% for September 2024. Figures from CoreLogic and SQM Research however pose a different picture – one more reflective of the economic headwinds – with auction clearance rates of 55.9% and 41.3% respectively (for the week ending 27 October).

In further acknowledging the challenges, Mr. McGlynn said “We’ve also seen sales in October occur over a longer timeframe than we might have seen six months ago, particularly where there’s a large gap between what the seller thinks their home is worth and what the buyer thinks it’s worth. We do believe however that there has been a positive shift among both sellers and buyers, and we’re regularly seeing them committed to reaching mutually beneficial outcomes.”

He added that part of BresicWhitney’s capability to consistently deliver for clients lay in its experience in bringing together buyers and sellers, and doing so without reliance on inbound enquiry or exposure from the major property websites (realestate.com.au and Domain.com.au). “Knowing exactly which buyers are active in the market, introducing underbidders to comparable properties, knowing when and how to guide a seller to transact pre-auction or see a campaign through to auction… These are all factors that make a huge difference in a climate where there is patchiness and caution. Many active in the market now have also been on this journey for some months and are very ready to transact prior to Christmas.”

Shifting into a ‘buyers’ market’?
Average registered bidders trended down slightly month-on-month, from 5.1 in September to 3.9 in October. A sign that BresicWhitney says is symbolic of diluted buyer demand, as a result of more homes for sale in total. “It’s important to remember that for the last three or so years, the main lifestyle markets across Sydney have been chronically undersupplied. It’s been what you’d call a quintessential ‘sellers’ market’, where not only have properties been constrained but prices have been growing. Now we’re starting to see that shift, as buyers have more choice and there is increased confidence in the stabilising economic outlook now and into 2025,” Mr McGlynn said.

Supporting this was the Westpac-Melbourne Institute’s ‘Mortgage Rate Expectations Index’ which tracks consumer views on interest rates over the next 12 months, falling 14.1% over the month. The index is now the lowest it’s been since rates were easing during the pandemic. A 6.2% increase in the ‘Consumer Sentiment Index’ led it to the highest read since May 2022. This also translated into lifts in the ‘Time to Buy a Dwelling Index’ which rose to its highest level since Sep 2022, and a rise in the ‘House Price Expectations Index’ which rose for the first time in four months.

Annual headline inflation fell to 2.8% in the three months to September from 3.8% in the June quarter, too – its lowest since March 2021. Underlying inflation remained above the 2-3% target band at 3.5%.

Long-term lens.
Paring back of house price growth is set to further drive positive conditions for buyers. Domain’s House Price Report for October revealed that while Sydney property prices grew (0.6%) for the seventh consecutive quarter, there was a slowdown with growth halving compared to both the previous quarter and the same period last year. On the other hand, the CoreLogic Home Value Index revealed that Sydney prices dipped 0.1% in October, the first decline since January 2023.

Median price growth on a five-yearly basis however illustrated the amount by which values had increased. A BresicWhitney analysis of Domain data showed that a number of key lifestyle suburbs had recorded major uplifts in value over this time. This included North Bondi (81.5%), Mosman (60.5%), Hunters Hill (52%), Marrickville (50.8%) Paddington (48.9%) and Balmain (40.4%).

It’s also a lens that property investors recognise, with BresicWhitney observing the continued return of this type of buyer to the Sydney market in October. In reflecting on the more than 500 properties BresicWhitney has leased in the last four months, Head of Property Management Chantelle Collin said: “There’s good evidence that investors are returning to the Sydney market, which is a positive given the fundamental role they play in ensuring healthy supply for tenants.”

BresicWhitney’s vacancy rate remains consistently under 2% reflecting that conditions for tenants are still very competitive. This is in line with recent data from Proptrack that revealed Sydney’s vacancy rate has fallen to 1.56%, following a 0.08% decline over the last month. This marked a -0.12% quarterly change, and an even larger 52% reduction in vacancy since March 2020 – the start of the COVID pandemic. Sydney’s vacancy rate did however show an annual increase of 0.24%, demonstrating that conditions are easing gradually. 

“We tend to see a flurry of activity after Christmas and into the New Year, and we expect an uptick then. It’s also been interesting to see the uplift that the Sydney Metro has had across these key markets on tenant and investor demand. Places like the Inner West – which has been underserviced by public transport for decades – is now much more viable for a lot of people. In particular students, who traditionally may have looked at areas closer to universities,” Ms. Collin said.

Future opportunity.
A number of homes came onto the market in October too, representing plenty of opportunity for buyers to transact this side of the year. These include standout architectural homes – such as the award-winning ‘JJ House’ by Bokey Grant at 350 Catherine Street Lilyfield – and the coveted ‘Annandale House’ at 203 Nelson Street by Welsh + Major. Other property included modern apartments, classic sandstone homes and terraces across North Sydney, Mosman, Newtown, Waterloo, and Balmain.

Mr. McGlynn concluded that he expected solid activity to remain across November and into early December. “The coming weeks will set the tone for how activity in January commences. It’s not clear yet exactly where this will land. While conditions are changing in the Sydney market, they are still healthy with good opportunity for buyers and sellers.”

View all homes in this piece at bw.com.au and stay tuned for BresicWhitney’s end of year wrap, including the year’s most viewed homes, out in December.